Gift acceptance issues: Dealing with difficult donors and restrictions

Gift acceptance issues: Dealing with difficult donors and restrictions: "The intense competition for donor dollars creates a difficult enough environment for fundraisers. Unfortunately, certain gift acceptance issues add innumerable obstacles to the already challenging path of finding and retaining donors. The topic was recently explored at a conference, Good at Doing Good: Safeguarding Yourself and Your Charity in a Complex World, organized by the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP), a project of Capacity Builders (a division of OCSA) and supported by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Malcolm Burrows defined part of the problem as the Benevolence Dilemma. Head of Philanthropic Advisory Services at Scotia Private Client Group, Burrows sees firsthand how the dilemma plays out and explains simply, 'There's a mismatch between what the donor needs and what clients need — or think they need.' The hope is for organizations to find the right fit, he continues, one that balances their mission with donors' perceived interests. The gift has to fit; it has to feel right for it to work. Though not always easy to discern, for sure, sometimes the answer is evident."